It started like any other day. Units deployed on missions, Zero's for a close-quarter combat intervention in India, X's to scour for escaped Mavericks in Guatemala, and Axl working with the Intel Unit, giving them recon on a tight situation in California with his unique Stealth Mode ability.

They'd managed to get back to base at around the same time and meet up on the way to the showers, chattering about their respective missions and how it had gone, cleaning up debris and coolants from their armors and jumpsuits (and hair, in Zero's case).

Then everything took a weird turn on the way back toward their recharge pods, all in different sections of the dorm wing. Axl had started flirting with X, discreetly and covertly, making sure the three of them were the only ones in the hall. X and Zero were an item, Axl knew that, and still he persisted. When Zero rebuffed the advances on X, the newgen changed tactics and began hitting on Zero instead.

The strange attitude continued as Axl alternated between the two other S-Rankers, until finally Zero had snapped out.

"We're a pair. Deal with both of us or go cool off in the arctic, kid."

Axl had grinned wickedly, and chirped out his answer.

"Tomorrow, 22:00, Zero's room. See ya, guys!"

He retreated toward his recharger, leaving the older Hunters bemused, and feeling as if they'd somehow played right into Axl's hand and taken a bait hook, line and sinker.

Axl had shown up at the promised time, a backpack slung over a shoulder, holding a few movie-discs and some flavored energy bottles. They spent some time just shooting shit about other Hunters, Command Control and the Federation, Axl's entirely casual attitude disarming the tension in the room fast and efficiently, until it was just like every other time they'd ended up spending an evening between friends.

"Hey, Zero?"

"Wha—!"

The blond's question ended up muffled, the cocky kid stealing a kiss from him. X turned his head, blinking as Axl backed down from Zero and turned on him instead. It was fast, and surprisingly chaste, just lips pressing together, no pressure to open up. Axl drew back, grinning boyishly at the two of them, scratching at the cross-scar over his nose, cheeks a little flushed and nervous.

"I like you. A lot. Both of you," he clarified, seeing the confusion his comrades in arms were sporting.

"A-Axl, Zero and I… We're together."

"Yeah, that's what he said when I hit on the two of you yesterday. Not that I didn't already know then…"

"Neither of us can be with you."

X was trying to let Axl down as gently as possible, trying to get it through. All it did was make Axl smile wider. Zero frowned, placing a hand on Axl's shoulder, and shook his head.

"Listen, kid. Whatever you're thinking you can have, well, you can't. It doesn't work that way."

"No, I can have it. You're turning me down like I'm asking to go out with one of you. What says that I wanna break you two up to be with you?"

"Do you…" X swallowed, then continued, flushing a little. "You mean… all three of us together? You want a threesome?"

Axl grinned, obviously happy, and confirmed with a nod. His eyes narrowed slightly, and his tone turned a bit more sly.

"You both could have just turned me down so fast my head've spun, and you decided not to hide in X's room for tonight. You didn't throw me out on my ass when I kissed either of you, either, so you're sort of curious, right?"

Zero blinked, before frowning at Axl, the start of a smirk tugging at his mouth.

"Well, damn. You're getting smarter. Alright, what if I am a little curious? I still wouldn't date someone who started crushing on me yesterday."

Axl squirmed a little, his smile faltering into a more embarrassed smirk.

"Uh, I kinda crushed on the both of you for a while."

"A while? How long?" X looked at Axl, now genuinely curious.

"…Since three months after I was in Red Alert for X," the newgen admitted. "And since I got a chance to talk to Zero without a Mechaniloid on my butt or getting handcuffed."

"But that was years ago!"

Axl laughed quietly, touching his scar nervously again.

"Yeah, the crushing kinda… Never went away and it got worse." He paused, then looked between Zero and X, making his best puppy eyes at them.

"Can you please just give it a try? If it doesn't work, well, it doesn't work. But you can't knock it 'till you tried it, right?"

Axl watched as X met Zero's eyes, the two of them exchanging privately on a wireless connection. X seemed still unsure, and Zero was guarded and neutral.

"Axl…"

He looked back toward X, watching the older Reploid bite his lip, looking worriedly at him.

"…I'm worried that we'll hurt you…"

"I can handle myself, I proved that much, right?"

"…you're just so young, for all we could be fifty times your age…"

"I'm at the legal age for being considered all settled in for a Reploid, I can make my own informed consent!"

"…I just don't want you to get hurt because of us."

Axl sighed, getting a little agitated.

"You can't keep me in a bubble, even Signas says it. And, honestly, if I had the resolve to keep pushing for being turned official for Hunter duties, you think that I won't push for what I know I want here?"

Zero spoke up, resting a hand on Axl's shoulder and rubbing.

"Axl, this is serious. We really could hurt you. Mentally and physically. We don't want to hurt you because you think you can take it."

"Okay, stop the depression talk, alright, guys? You two are way too serious and emo for your own good at times!"

With both of their once-again bewildered gazes, Axl gave them his best charming smile.

"If hurting me's what you're worried again, we can take it slow while we try it out, right?"

Again, there was a rapidfire exchange between X and Zero, before X sighed, and Zero relented with a quiet "fine". Axl nodded, beaming at getting his way, and looked left and right.

"…Can I kiss one of you for real now?"

Zero took a breath, as if steeling himself, and rested his hand on Axl's chin. He turned the newgen's head his way, and moved in to seal their lips together with a quiet noise. Axl gave into the kiss fast, parting his lips to push at Zero's with his tongue, wanting in. The blond opened his mouth, and brushed his tongue against Axl's, rubbing and batting at it, fighting for dominance. The kiss started off clumsy, Axl not really knowing what to do with his tongue beyond stick it into Zero's mouth, but he learned almost frighteningly fast. When they broke for cool air, both of them were blushing, Zero just slightly and Axl a dark red.

X allowed himself to crack a smile, tapping Axl's shoulder and leaning in. In seconds, Axl was showing the "father of all Reploids" what he'd learned from Zero, tongues dancing and twirling, Axl taking full control in instants. He started advancing on X, only to have Zero's fingers hook into the back of his pelvic armor, between metal and Axl's grey jumpsuit.

"Slow down there, kid, not because you're getting excited that you're getting any…"

Axl shivered, but slowly broke off the kiss, moving back to his seat and rubbing his thighs together, breathing deeply in his effort to calm down. X piped up, pleased.

"…You're not too bad at kissing, Axl. But we probably should keep it at that for now."

Axl swallowed, nodding again, and continued his inner fight to regain control over his body. Just two kisses leaving him hard and aching painfully inside his armor… He probably needed to build up endurance.

The testing went well. Their team dynamics never really changed; Axl still sided up with whichever of them was currently on his side, they still argued, none of their professional performances slipped—if anything, Axl's average ratio only raised higher, his margin of error on monthly scoring rapidly approaching the fabled 2% that was Zero's "high score".

They'd discussed things out over instant messaging, struggling to find a spot long enough in their disparate schedules to fit some personal time between them into.

By the time the opportunity had presented itself, whatever initial shyness they'd had about being in a threesome was all but smoothed over. They met at the "rendezvous point", storage room G-395, and immediately hid between two aisles, hidden from view of the door and the security camera. Axl greeted the older Hunters with a networking handshake, opening a private transmission channel and sending the codes over to X and Zero.

[Hey, guys. Nobody saw you?]

Zero shook his head, and Axl moved in to kiss X, quick and eager, tongues sliding together, before backing up to let Zero ravish X's mouth in turn, deep and slow. Their tongues met in mid-air, before their lips even locked together, drawing a slow groan and a shiver from Axl, the young Hunter's face rapidly turning red, cheeks burning as he covered his mouth. He couldn't afford to make sounds and alert people he was in there…

[Worked up already, kid?]

[Don't call me kid, Zero. And you have no idea.]

[Got what I asked for?]

[Yup, got all the supplies!]

Zero broke the kiss with X, giving Axl a nod as he pointed out one of the bins he'd hidden everything they'd need in, before sweeping in to kiss Axl hard. The spiky-haired Reploid reached out, stroking his hands over Zero's two-tone jumpsuit, before pointing at the helmet while fighting for dominance, trying hard not to be distracted by the hands roaming over his back and inner thighs.

[X… G-guh—get the helmet off…?]

The blue Reploid drew in close, placing a warm, loving kiss on Zero's face, near his eye, before undoing the latch that secured the helmet and ponytail clasp together, and lifted the piece of armor away, setting it on a shelf, then removing his own and placing it next to his lover's. He drew in close again, and Axl shifted, pulling X closer with an arm around X's slightly curved waist—X really had a girly waist, and hips that were just rounded enough to match his really, really cute butt…

Zero shifted a little, breaking the liplock but coaxing Axl's tongue out in the air with his. Axl was a little confused, mind swimming with hormones and the longest case of teasing he'd been put through, but he let out a near-silent sigh when X's tongue pushed. The three-way "kiss" was awkward, sloppy and messy, but it just turned Axl on even more. One of Zero's hands rested on his pelvic armor, stroking at it lightly, thumb tracing the large screws drilled through the armor, and he let out a moan over radio.

He started moving his own hands, only to discover that while he was distracted, Zero and X had already discarded their pelvic and chest armors, leaving him able to touch them through their jumpsuits. Axl opened his eyes when the older two drew back and away from him, giving him amused looks. X's was soft, understanding, but Zero's gaze raked over him, and he raised a thin blond eyebrow, eyes darkened with passion.

Zero turned to X, taking his mouth, and brought his hands down to X's behind, cupping it, and pulled his lover in close, their arousals rubbing together through their jumpsuits. Axl shuddered, staring with bright eyes, pupils widening lustfully, and fumbled with his own interface, dismissing chest and pelvic armors—along with his gunmetal grey jumpsuit. The linelights on his boots, armguards and earcones pulsed faster, lit up by accelerating electrical impulses as his corebeat sped up, and the blue dome embedded in his chest glowed brighter.

With bravado he didn't feel, he placed his fists on his hips, grinned at X and Zero, and fired off a retort.

[You're the ones lagging behind, now!]

They broke out of their intense making-out session reluctantly, returning their attention to Axl, as naked as he'd get without being opened up. X let out a small laugh, and moved close again, impish. He took the red and dark blue part of Axl's helmet off, caressing the white piece that was, functionally, Axl's ear, before placing the piece with his and Zero's helmets.

[You forgot that…]

Axl lashed out quickly, springing into action, pulling X in close, pressing their fronts together. He stomped out any possible noises by cutting off his vocoder, and by the way he felt air rush out of X as he mouthed… X probably had done it a while ago, too. Zero moved in, pressing himself hard against the newgen's back, his hands joining Axl's in holding X and fondling him. It wasn't long until Axl began bucking and squirming, looking for friction and relief, and he shuddered, length hard and weeping. He fought for control, struggling not to just come right there so early, not wanting X and Zero to be disappointed with him. X touched him idly, tracing the joint lines where his synthskin segments were sealed together, tracing the rims of his armguards and the edge of his chest crystal, and Axl shivered again.

Zero pressed against his back again, and this time he felt something hard poke at the small of his back, freed of the thick jumpsuit barrier. He grinned, regaining some wits, and as X pulled away to get rid of his jumpsuit just like Zero had, cheekily fired a bad joke.

[So, is that a saber hilt or are you glad to see me?]

Zero and X cracked up in laughter, silent and over radio waves, before Zero gently pushed at Axl's spiky hair.

[You dumbass.]

Axl grinned and turned around, before faltering for a second. He'd expected Zero and X to be different, but… Zero's synthskin was present on his upper arms, torso, pelvis and thighs, but his chest was hard metal, with depressions where the chest crystals were on his armor, and a very visible vent at solar plexus level. Zero's smirk faltered just like Axl's grin, and he seemed a little unsure, but Axl raised a hand, tracing and exploring, running his hands over core-warmed metal. The newgen moved on to the large white ball-joints serving as Zero's shoulders, one of them with the blond's familiar insignia, before moving his attention to Zero's length, standing at attention.

Axl raised his hands up to his mouth, biting on the thick, rough firing gloves protecting his hands, and bared his hands one after the other. He brought one of them to Zero's lust, handling him deftly and stroking him, feeling a thrill when Zero let out a surprised breath, leaning his head backward. X moved back in, watching carefully as Axl stroked his lover.

[…Easy, or you're going to get him to come early…]

[Spoilsport.]

But Axl didn't really mean it, bringing his hand away, looking X over. He wasn't as drastically different as Zero, but the seams in his synthskin, where his limbs were joined, seemed rather pronounced. On a whim, Axl released Zero, and stroked his fingers over the joint seam on X's right hip, watching the older Reploid's lips part in pleasure and shiver delicately. He stole another kiss from X at that point, barely able to resist the temptation. Zero moved away while Axl was otherwise preoccupied, digging through what he'd told Axl to bring.

Finding the tube of lubricant was easy, and he waved it in Axl's face once he broke off from his intense kiss with X, panting.

Axl grinned despite his embarrassment, focusing on a particular mental image until he could send it over to both of his partners. They fell quiet, eyes going wide, before Zero shifted to look Axl in the eyes.

[…Shit, Axl, are you serious?]

He nodded, looking at X's still wide-eyed look. The blue Reploid finally found his voice again, murmuring quietly, obviously worried.

[…Axl, we could really hurt you if we tried that. We're not that big, but… both of us?]

[I really, really want this. I want both of you… Taking me at the same time…!]

After a quick look to his flushed lover, Zero ushered Axl toward the shelves, hand on his behind to coax him there faster, before he started giving him instructions. Axl shook, hard and needy, and followed all of them.

[Lean against the shelves. Back against them. Grab onto some of the beams… Higher. Use your heels if you need to boost up. There. Hang there. Draw your legs up, spread them out. Nice… Didn't know your arms were that strong. Okay, brace yourself. Might be cold.]

Zero pushed a slick finger inside Axl, a strange and odd sensation that drew tingles up the young Reploid's spine. He frowned and squirmed slightly, his body adjusting to the new stimulation, until Axl finally got control of his reflexes and consciously relaxed, stopping his body's struggles. Zero pumped his finger in and out of the tight Reploid, wondering if he could really handle it. He worked up to a second finger, watching Axl clench and twitch, throwing his head back for a moment, breathing faster. Axl frowned hard, gritting his teeth, and once again forced his body to relent and let Zero's fingers do their wonderful, wonderful thing.

Zero took the digits out, then added a third on the next thrust, watching Axl jerk in surprise, his apprehensive tension all but vanishing. The spiky-haired Reploid's body surrendered to Zero's fingers as they pushed into his weak point, moaning Zero's name over radio. The blond looked at his lover, and then motioned him over with a sharp toss of his head.

[He's damn tight. Lend me a hand, three fingers won't be enough if he really does want both of us in him.]

X took the tube, slathering some of the substance over his own fingers, before slowly pressing one of his own fingers inside. Zero was right, the tight warmth was incredible. Axl let out a gasp of air that might have been a shout, and he shook his head, trying to tell them to stop.

[Axl?]

[I… Ah, ah, I'm going to… If you don't stop, I'm going to come…!]

Zero looked up at Axl's face, and reached up with his clean hand to stroke some of Axl's hair out of his face.

[If we don't keep going, you're going to have to pick. You probably have a low recovery period, if it's any consolation.]

Axl moaned, shaking his head again, and began fighting against the inevitable as X added another finger inside, then a third, leaving him with six fingers moving, stretching him, driving him near-mad. Zero and X slowly pulled their fingers out of Axl, watching him twitch and hang on the edge.

X slicked his hand, then took Zero's arousal, slowly and sensuously spreading the lubricant over the length. He moaned when Zero returned the favor, his strong grip gently teasing X, before he moved into position, pressed against Axl's right side. X joined from the left, and they adjusted themselves and Axl, taking advantage of the young Hunter's incredible flexibility — even for a Reploid — to each hook one of Axl's knees over a shoulder. The angle was a little odd, their hips meeting in an odd triangle, but it got Zero and X's lengths one against the other, aligned with Axl's entrance.

[Ready, Axl?]

Axl laughed shakily, nodding quickly. He wanted to give himself to both Zero and X for his first time. Really wanted to…

[Y-you betcha. Hurry up!]

[Slide down on these bars, then.]

As Axl inched back down cautiously, he could feel the heads of his partners' arousals begin pressing against him. He focused and forced his body to relax again, feeling pressure as he tried to fit them inside. He'd been about to admit he was wrong about that being possible, when his grip slipped on the shelves' bars, shock distracting him, and he let out a voiceless scream when he was suddenly impaled. Zero cursed, thick with pleasure over radio, and X moaned loudly when the tight heat surrendered and enfolded them, squeezing them both together. Axl clamped down on them, quivering as he came, his release leaving him still half-hard and gasping.

Before Axl could really recover, Zero shifted, drawing nearly out, before pushing hard back inside. X was spurred into action by the slick sliding of his length against Zero's, and soon the two were pounding Axl hard, each with their own speed and rhythm. The unsynched thrusts made Axl squirm and shout, his lust quickly hardening again, needy for another release. He begged for X and Zero to go harder, faster, deeper, to push him over the edge and kiss him.

The kisses were fast and messy again, and Axl couldn't even think straight enough to analyze the differences that told him who he was kissing. His eyes were jammed shut and just wouldn't open, pleasure splashing abundantly over his nervous center, sending his brain haywire. Someone's fingers dug in his hip, another hand clamped so hard on his thigh he knew he'd have a dent left for a few hours in the artificial muscles. X and Zero picked up the pace hard, and began throwing open intimate connections, linking up with eachother and throwing hooks into Axl as well.

Suddenly, they were a single entity, synchronizing in a maelstrom of pleasure. Their bodies flooded with sensation and bliss, each experiencing what the other two were, pleasure building in an infinite loop that brought them to a harsh climax in unison. Their bodies glowed and pulsed with energies, conduits under their skins and across metal lighting up in blinding white, and then liberated in a blinding pulse that blew out the overhead lights and shattered the camera in a corner.

The three of them fell together into a heap, shuddering with the intensity of their joint climax. Alarms blared in their ears, the code for a bomb attack… Zero recovered first, closing the connections between the three of them gently, staring at X with horrified awe. The blue Reploid shuddered, returning the stare, before looking toward Axl, who was boneless on the floor, looking in confusion and adoration at his elders.

"…wh…what was… that…?"

X bit his lip, before smiling, a bit regretful, and brushed some hair out of Axl's face.

"…We'll talk about it later, okay? I think making the lights explode triggered the bomb alert, and we don't want to be messy and naked when the squad comes in. It's already going to be hard to explain it to Signas…"